


house of gold

by yuzuri



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Denny's at 2 am, M/M, Percy is oblivious, au i guess, havent reas the books in years lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 02:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7416841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuzuri/pseuds/yuzuri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy wants the soft edges Nico brings to the table.</p>
<p>/title from top's song</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Reality is always a bit different at an empty Denny’s at 2 AM. Percy doesn’t go there, he ends up there after a night of celebrating with Annabeth and the rest of the camp that’s old enough to set foot in a bar. It’s too rainy and cold for him to walk home, not feeling like meddling with the weather.

_I’m hungry anyway_. He thinks, allowing himself to get a bit wet. He seats himself at a booth; there’s no one else in the diner except a waitress that comes to give him a menu. The bell jingles as he contemplates getting the salmon. By instinct, or maybe chance, green eyes dart to the door. He sees a lean boy, leather jacket drenched. His hair is jet black and he carries a low key, but threatening aura of “do not fuck with me”.

Percy thinks it’s Nico. Above all he senses it too, pressing his lips into a straight line before calling him.

“Nico!” He sees him turn around and he definitely knows that it’s Nico. The black haired male’s face is wan and pale and he looks almost weary. He doesn’t approach Percy until he’s gestured to.

Nico takes a seat in front of Percy, grunting in acknowledgement.

“What are you doing here?” The unheard question that Percy knows Nico wants to ask goes unanswered. He would have to ask Percy himself.

“I just came here after it started raining.” He answers anyway, because he at least owes Nico this much.

“You couldn’t at least dry yourself.” Its more of a sarcastic statement- the kind that Nico could only pull off. They both know what he’s referring to, though. Percy shrugs.

“I just didn’t feel like it. Looking for cover from the rain?” Percy guesses.

“People give you too little credit.” Nico answers, again, sarcastically. Percy can see the simper tug at Nico’s lips.

“This isn’t how I wanted to spend the anniversary.” Nico mutters. Percy hears after a moment of silence between the two. It’s almost suffocating; there’s no chatter of other people, no clinking from silverware or sizzling of food cooking to fill in the background. He’s surprised though- It’s rare for Nico to start a conversation, much less with Percy, for obvious reasons.

He’s thinking of how to reply, and Nico can tell. It makes Percy feel guilty. The last time they’d seen eachother was a year ago- give or take a few months.

“I’m sorry.” He apologizes, even though there’s nothing to be sorry for. Nico tenses, playing with the placemat. The waitress comes to give Nico his silverware and another menu, asking them what they want to drink. Nico orders a coke, Percy asks for a glass of water.

“You don’t have to be sorry.” There’s an edge in Nico’s voice after the waitress leaves.

“I-I know.” Percy wondered how Nico could do this to him, making him tense and careful but also a bit longing.

“You’ve changed. I mean, your style.” Percy admits the observation. “Leather jacket, huh?” He musters a slightly forced grin.

Nico nods. “I have a bike now. But I was walking for a bit and got stuck in the rain.” He shrugs.

“At this hour?” It’s barely twelve minutes past 2 AM, but to Percy, it feels like an awful stretch of time.

The other shrugged, resting his chin on his palm. “I didn’t notice.” He says, and he finally takes off his jacket.

“Is your jacket going to be okay?” Percy inquires, and offers a glance to Nico’s attire. Under the black jacket was a wet, white t shirt (‘ _what celebrity did you turn into, Nico?’_ Percy thinks), an unusual sight for Nico but it bodes well on him.

“I think so.. I don’t know if I should walk home or just call a cab.” The waitress is back to take their orders after Nico’s words. Percy decides fuck it and orders the little pancake balls on page 7. Nico goes with the steak, which is funny to Percy because he hasn’t looked through the menu the whole time. It leads to another train of thoughts of, ‘ _does he eat here alot? That must be bad for him he should eat properly_ ’, which just makes Percy concerned.

“You could always crash at my apartment.” He sounds clunky and awkward when he replays the sentence in his head, but his intentions shine through.

Nico daintily puts a hand on his chest, pretending to be a swooning maiden. “How indecent.” He says in a falsetto, and Percy smiles at the small skit Nico performs.

-

They’re done with their meal and 2:50 AM is creeping up on Percy. Luckily it’s a Friday night, rather, a Saturday morning so he’s safe. He leaves the diner with Nico and they end up walking home together, which is more than good for Percy since he was going to drag Nico home with him if the other refused.

He ruminates about Nico- the way he’s changed. He walks with better posture and with more confidence. Percy has no idea how he notices these things.

They get to his apartment after a walk’s worth of catching up. It’s not as awkward as the start of the night and Percy’s glad.

“Oh, right, I hope you’re ok if there’s only one bed.” He hopes Nico doesn’t turn on his heels and walk away. “If you want, I can sleep on the couch.” Percy dries Nico before they step into the apartment, something, Percy realises, he should've done a long time ago. He feels every drop roll over Nico’s skin, which for _some_ reason isn’t doing wonders for his composure.

“It’s alright.” Nico says, surprising Percy for the third time that night. The first surprise was that Nico stuck around in the first place. “I get cold at night anyway.”

He realises what Nico is implying, that they should sleep in the same bed, and the idea sends alarms going off in Percy’s head.

“You sure? I wouldn’t mind but y’know.” He clicked his tongue. “I’ll get you a change of clothes.”

Nico nodded. “I’m sure. Thanks.” He says, a bit curtly- Percy wonders where the efficacy of the night went. He leaves the room and comes back with basketball shorts and an old camp shirt. He himself changed- sweatpants hung on his hips, not bothering to change his shirt.

“I think these will fit you.” He gives the clothes to Nico. “You can change in the bedroom.” He gives Nico a warm smile. Percy likes the soft atmosphere. This isn’t what he had with Annabeth, he realises. He likes the surprisingly soft edges and warm, homely feel Nico gives him.

Percy realises that it was probably instinct that he looked at the opening door. He thinks, and he doesn’t have his feelings set straight just yet, and he maybe won’t for a long time. At this revelation, he figures he should get all he can, lifting up the bed covers and says, “After you,” with a grin to Nico. He feels better than he has in the past year.

 

 

 

 


	2. the one where Nico is happy

Nico’s glad that he turned around at the fateful Denny’s, and he knows it. Funnily enough, he thanks himself for it. It’s the morning after, and he’s unfortunate enough to be sleeping right in the direct sunlight that mercilessly streams in through Percy’s window. He slowly opens his eyes and then quickly shuts them when he feels Percy waking up. Being the son of a death god came with a few half baked perks, like knowing when someone was asleep or awake, and then being right only 50 percent of the time.

He feels Percy move Nico’s hair from his face, and the younger male thinks it took all the willpower in the world for him not to smile or lean into his touch. He stays still, slowing his breathing and shifting. He feels Percy stay still, hand still on Nico’s head, before he just starts playing with it. Nico takes a chance and opens his eyes slowly, taking some time to wake up.

He suddenly turns to Percy, seeing the intense gaze of the other before it turns into a surprised look, with a touch of embarrassment.

“How long have you been awake?” And Percy’s facing him but it feels like he’s talking right in Nico’s ear.

“Quiet,” the other hisses, “I just woke up.” he lies.

Percy looks a bit relieved, until he noticed his arm was still around Nico’s waist from when they were spooning. He carefully moves it, a bit embarrassed. Nico’s cheeks are spilled with a light pink.

Percy notices how tan Nico is now- something he didn’t notice at first in the cheap lights of the Denny’s last night. Nico feels his gaze and sits up, too fast, but stays up anyway so he wouldn't have to be next to Percy for a bit. It feels like a one night stand, one that Nico didn’t wake up early enough to just leave without a word.

“I’m hungry.” Nico says, and then he leaves the bed to go wash his face. He stops when he opens a closet door.

“Where’s the restroom.”

He’s answered with a laugh from Percy, who can’t stop laughing.

“I look like a hungover moth, so unless you wanna see this,” he turns to Percy and gestures at his face, “answer me, Percy.” Nico lets out a small puff of air through his nose.

“In the hallway, to your right.” Percy smiles, and he feels really happy for some reason.

Nico stares at himself in the bathroom, and then he thinks to himself, _I look pretty good_. It’s probably because he had the first good night’s sleep in weeks. _Damn, you look fine_ , Nico thinks, monotone in his head, and then he laughs at his own antics before stopping. He briefly thinks he’s going crazy, but then shrugs because everyone else does it but no one ever says it.

He’s out of the bathroom after taking a piss and refreshing himself. Percy is sitting on the couch when Nico asks, “Do you have anything to eat?”

To which Percy replies with a thrilling, “I have ramen and bread.”

Nico rolls his eyes, sighing softly. “And you’re the one that scolds me to take care of myself,” before he stops because he remembers the last time they interacted was probably a year ago. The apartment goes silent before Nico doesn’t see where he’s going and slams his hip on the stove's oven handle.

“ _Fuck_!” He exclaims, and in less than a second, Nico was sure of it, Percy was next to him.

“What happened?” He asks, and there’s a hint of a smile dancing on his words and face, but concern tints his eyes, which makes Nico’s insides twist, but leaves him confused. He wants to punch Percy but also pull him down for a kiss, too.

“I just bumped into your stupid handle thing.” He growls, clutching his hip. Percy laughs, and Nico wants to hear it again but too bad his hip hurts like a motherfucker.

“Just sit, I’ll make us toast.”

Nico nods, glad to have the invitation and sits on the couch. It’s a minute later when he hears the oven ding and Percy comes back with buttery toast on a paper towel.

“Are you too lazy to wash dishes?” Nico asks, and his hip is bruised but it doesn’t matter because he’s having toast with Percy fucking Jackson, after sleeping in the same bed.

Percy nods, not sheepish at all. “It’s whatever.” He shrugs, and Nico leans on his shoulder. The crook of his neck fits perfectly, and cliche thoughts take over Nico’s logical thinking and reasoning. He turns his head- brushing his lips over Percy’s neck, before sighing softly. He doesn’t take a bite of the toast yet, and he feels Percy’s breathing hitch ever so slightly, but Nico doesn’t care- no one could ever be able to take him away from this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I wrote a very short sequel to the first chapter! I'm considering actually writing a few more chapters but I have another ongoing series so no promises.
> 
> This chapter was unbetaed but sometimes my writing is so I tey to look over it a few times, sorry if there's any mistakes!
> 
> And it's very fluffy aaa ;;
> 
> As usual, comments and such are welcomed! Thanks for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading,, I'm a bit rusty and it's unbetad but (shrug emoji) i probably will do a sequel IF you guys want one or if I know what to write, whichever comes first!!


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